Quilting and Cross Stitch

I can't remember if I mentioned this in a previous post but after I finished making my aprons back in September, I began a quilting project.  I wanted to do something with Hubby's old uniforms that he had wanted to throw way because they were worn out or too stained to wear anymore.  I stopped him from taking them to the trash and he was more than glad to give them to me for "craft purposes" lol.  After surfing the net I found a couple of cool ideas including quilts and purses.  I made the purse first awhile back and posted a photo here on my blog.  The quilt has taken me a lot longer to complete partly because I often get frustrated with projects that are not "instant gratification."  I got bored or frustrated and put it aside for months at a time.  However, I finally have it finished!  I know it isn't perfect but in some ways I think that just adds character to it and this IS my very first quilt so cut me some slack?  I think this will be a cool keepsake since the uniforms that I used to make it were the ones that Hubby wore while he was in Iraq.  I think it turned out pretty cool.  The photo isn't the best... sorry!

Awhile back, I also completed and then framed a cross stitch project but I never posted it here so I thought I would now.  I hadn't done cross stitch since middle school when I had done one project but this turned out great!  I think the framing really compliments it too.  Sorry for the glare from the glass on the photo...

Korean Adventure Part 11: Heading Home - The Final Chapter

All too soon it was time for me to head back home to the States.  The morning I left Hubby helped me repack my suitcase and I went with him to get his hair cut before it was time to head to the airport. 

It took a taxi and a bus ride to get to the airport but we made it with time to spare.  The airport had a touch screen map/FAQ kiosk just like the mall.  I thought it was pretty cool.  The airport there is huge!  We had to use the map just to figure out where to check in.  After checking in, Hubby took me to lunch at the airport Bennigan's.  I thought it would be a safe place to go since they have Bennigan's in the US but the menu was in Korean so we had to ask the waitress lots of questions about what everything was and she only spoke a little English so it was a challenge.  Hubby told me that he will be a lot more patient with people who don't speak English when he gets back to the US because he knows what it is like not to speak the language.

Saying goodbye was difficult but Hubby assured me that the next few months would go by quickly.  A baby cried the entire way from Korea to San Francisco.  It was a long flight but ironically it was actually two hours shorter than the flight going to Korea because of the way the wind blows. 

I finally arrived back in San Francisco but was thankful that I had a long layover because I got stuck in the customs line for over an hour... even though I was towards the very front of the line.  The system went down and the line was at a standstill for over 45 minutes.  Couple that with tired and slightly annoyed passengers and you can imagine what standing in line was like. 

Thanks to San Fran's poor signage, as I mentioned on the way there, I got a bit lost trying to figure out how to get to my connecting gate but eventually I found it and picked up some food while I was waiting to board.  My flight was overbooked and I could have gotten a free travel voucher to give up my seat but at that point I just wanted to get home.

May was kind enough to pick me up when I finally arrived back home and she had already dropped off Bubbles, my fish, at my house.  She is so thoughtful!  I was glad to be back home but ironically just hours after I got back two tornadoes ripped through the town that I live in.  Thank God they didn't get close enough to post to affect me but still.. nice welcome home gift from mother nature.  LOL  it figures.  At least it happened AFTER I got home and not while I was trying to fly here.

I miss Hubby but hopefully he will be on his way home before I know it and then he will be getting out of the army so we will not have to deal with a year long separation again.  I can't wait to see him again.  Thanks for showing me Korea Baby!  I had fun  and I hope you did too :)

Korean Adventure Part 10: Other Activities and Attending the Movies in Korea.

Other than the major events that I have already discussed in various posts, Hubby gave me a tour of his base and we watched a bunch of movies that we borrowed from the post library.  I got to see him participate in his bowling league twice while I was there and it was fun to meet his friends.

I also learned that there are members of the Korean army who work with the US soldiers and wear our uniforms.  Hubby told me that they act as liaisons of sorts and are called Katuses.  I thought it sounded like it was pronounced Patuses but when I googled for spelling I found it with a 'K' on wikipedia.  They wear the US uniforms but with the Korean flag and have their name tapes in Korean with the American translation underneath in subtext.  I thought this was interesting.  Military service is mandatory for all males in Korea.

Attending the Movies

We also attended a movie off post one day which was an interesting experience.  In Korea, going to a movie is slightly different than it is here.  The movie theater itself was on the 14th and 15th floor of a building and the Koreans do not stand in line for tickets.  Rather, you take a number and have a seat on benches until your number is called.  When it is your turn, you go up to the counter to get your tickets. 

The cashiers do not speak English very well so if you are American you ask to see the "book."  Hubby loves movies so he is a pro at the whole "movie theater procedure!"  They hand you a binder which basically has movie posters in it shrunk down to 8 1/2in by 11in to fit into the binder.  You flip through it to pick out your movie and then point to it when you decide.  We decided to see John Carter.  They offered quite a few American movies and they are shown in English but they have Korean subtitles. 

After choosing the movie you want to see the cashier asks you where you would like to sit and shows you on the computer where the open seats are.  You actually have to sit in the seat you choose, like going to a concert.  The seats are all the same price but I guess this prevents people from having to rush into the theater before the movie starts to find a good seat? 

The theater offers popcorn in butter and caramel flavors as well as ice cream, and a variety of other snacks.  There is also an arcade inside the theater and there were even a few stores!  The actual theaters were on the second floor of the theater (15th? floor of the building?) 

After the movie you have to be very careful about where you throw your trash.  The Koreans are very anal about recycling and will yell at you if you don't do it right!  I also want to mention that although Korea is in general a very clean country... there are very few public garbage cans.  You will not see them on the streets.  I have no idea what they do with it!

Korean Adventure Part 9: Gyeongbokgung Palace

Towards the end of my visit to Korea, Hubby took me to visit Gyeongbokgung palace in downtown Seoul. We arrived just in time to see the ceremony marking the changing of the royal guards.  The guards were dressed in bright colors and carried weapons such as spears and bow and arrows.  It was a very interesting ceremony to watch.  They carried brightly colored flags and the royal orchestra played its very unique instruments as they marched along with the guards. 

After the change of the guard, Hubby and I went through the gates of the palace and discovered that there would be a free English speaking tour in five minutes.  I picked up a brochure on the palace and began reading it while we waited.  It was strange to see the tall buildings of the city looming right outside of the palace walls.  Looking the other direction it was cool to see how the palace roof was built to follow the line of the mountain behind it.  The early Koreans believed that their architecture should flow with nature.

It was a freezing cold day and it was very windy so I think our tour guide cut the tour slightly short but it was still informative.  We learned many interesting facts about the palace, Korea's history, and the kings who had lived/ruled there. 

The palace itself was very colorful and elaborate.  There were figures that I would call gargoyles everywhere to ward off evil spirits and there were small figures on the eves of every roof top.  There were dragons painted onto the ceilings and pottery on display inside the rooms.

The palace had an elaborate chimney system to heat it and seemed very architecturally advanced for the time period.  We also were able to see a rounded sundial that was invented under the rule of King Sejong.  It is supposedly much more accurate than a flat sundial.  Our tour guide read the time for us and it turned out to be about 20 minutes different from the time according to our watches.  She told us that the sundial is actually more accurate for the actual time in Korea according to the sun but that Korea conformed to the western time zones and that is where the 20 minutes were lost.  King Sejong also invented a water clock so that he could tell time on cloudy days or when it was raining.  We didn't get to see it but it seems like he was pretty smart!

The back part of the palace grounds has a beautiful garden but since we were there in the winter everything was brown.  Hubby was able to go when the weather was nicer and things were still green.  It was still pretty though even in winter.  It must be very beautiful in summer.  Over the back wall you can see a blue roofed building.  We were told that it is the Blue House where the Korean president lives.

After walking around for a bit after our tour and having a quick lunch we went to the museum next door to the palace and walked around learning about Korean culture.  It was interesting and it gave us a chance to warm up!

Afterwards we visited a small courtyard outside of the museum that had statues representing the Korean new year.  I was born in the year of the tiger.  I was excited to find this out because I love tigers.  My mom was born in the year of the dog which I find hilarious because she hates dogs!  Hubby was born in the year of the ox.  When were you born?

When we finished looking at everything, Hubby took me a few blocks away to a market area where we shopped for souvenirs.  There was so much to look at and there were a lot of interesting things for sale although some seemed over priced.  We walked around and had a good time exploring the shops until we found a couple of things to buy and headed back to the train for the trip back to Hubby's post.

Korean Adventure Part 8: Celebrating Saint Patrick's Day

Koreans don't celebrate St. Patrick's Day but soldiers do!  Hubby and his buddies wanted to go out to celebrate on St. Patrick's Day.  We started off the celebration by going out for dinner.  We left the post around 4:45 and took a taxi to downtown Uijeongbu.  Once downtown we walked to a Korean pizza place called Mr. Pizza.  Yeah, I know, really original name.  It was around the corner from Mr. Doughnut.

One pizza is about $30 in Korea which is crazy but again I think all American food is higher priced.  They had a bunch of specialty pizzas but Hubby had to explain to the waitress that I only like cheese on my pizza and nothing else.  I know, I am boring.  Hubby's buddies ordered a pizza with a bunch of different toppings but were surprised to find corn on the pizza when it was delivered.  Who knew corn could be put on pizza?  Hubby said he thought the pizza was made with goat cheese but I couldn't tell and I am very picky.  Two interesting things to note about eating out in Korea are 1) you don't tip the waitress and 2) she won't come over every five minutes to see if you need anything.  Instead, there is a button on the table that you press when you want service.

After dinner we walked around downtown Uijeongbu a bit.  They have all sorts of statues and art in the plazas and all of the store fronts were colorful and lit up with neon signs.  There was so much to look at I was a bit overwhelmed.  I didn't know where to look first!  I almost tripped over an uneven sidewalk because I was trying to look at everything and wasn't watching where I was walking. 

We went to a flea market area and looked around for awhile.  There were vendors selling everything from shoes to food and everything in between. One of Hubby's buddies wasn't wearing green and we kept giving him grief so he decided to buy a green Yankees hat.  He didn't realize until after he had paid for it that the back said "New Yuck" in stead of New York.  Ha ha... the Yankees suck anyway.

The boys wanted to start drinking but most of the bars were still closed.  Eventually they found one and we trekked up to the second floor where it was.  In Korea, they cannot build out so they build up instead.  Each floor of a building can be a different store, restaurant, etc.  We sat at a table by the window and people watched as people walked by below. 

Hubby pointed out a barbershop that we could see from the window that had two barber poles out front.  Apparently in Korea, two barber poles means that they offer haircuts with a happy ending.  Who knew?  Hubby said that they were told this info when they were in processed so that they would not get themselves in trouble. 

Eventually we ended up at a bar called Radio Clock where we spent the remainder of the evening.  The Korean bar tenders were very friendly and the soldier's explained to them that it was St. Patrick's Day.  They took song requests all night and would look up any song that you asked for.  I heard a Korean version of a Rhianna song and a J Lo song which was interesting.  Hubby played darts and we had a good time until we decided it was time to head home.

Korean Adventure Part 7: A Few Words About Restrooms

For this post, I want to pause for a moment to tell you about my experience with bathrooms in Korea.  Over the span of my trip I experienced the full range of restrooms from elaborate to well, lets say minimalistic.  Of course I encountered many "normal" restrooms while I was there too but these two particular restrooms left a lasting impression on me.

Most Hi-Tech Toilet Ever

When we were at T.G.I.Friday's at the Coex mall I went to use the bathroom and discovered the world's most high tech toilet.  Attached to the side of the toilet was a controller with a bunch of buttons on it giving the user several options including, bidet spray, seat temperature control, water sounds, etc.  I was a bit intimidated.  I just wanted to use it real quick and get out.  I mean seriously a warmed toilet seat and a butt wash?  No thank you. 

On the flip side....

Where's The Toilet?

One of the days that we took the train we stopped to use the restroom in one of the train stations.  I had used other bathrooms in the train stations without incident so I wasn't expecting anything out of the ordinary.  The restroom itself was beautifully decorated with tile and floral art.  There was a line but it was moving fairly quickly. Two women before me went in and then it was my turn.  I walked into the stall, shut the door, and promptly asked myself "Where's the toilet?"  Answer - there wasn't one.  Instead, there was what basically amounts to a porcelain coated hole in the floor with a lever next to it to flush.  "OK", I thought to myself, "how does this work?"  I was not amused but I braved the situation any way and managed not to make a fool of myself.  Below is a picture of what this "toilet" looked like.  I was too stunned to take my own photo and regretted it later but apparently I was not the only one who was shocked by these bathrooms because I found someone else who blogged about it.  I borrowed the photos on this page from them but I will include the link to their blog at the bottom of the page should you want to read about their experience!

The soap was also a bit odd in that it was not liquid soap but a bar that was more or less attached to the wall.  I am not sure how sanitary this is but I guess soap is soap.  Here is what it looked like.

Most bathrooms also have a call button that you can press for help... I wonder if anyone has ever pressed it.

I discovered later that in bathrooms with these traditional toilets, there is usually at least one stall that has the western toilet symbol meaning that it does have what I would consider a "real" toilet but hey I wanted to experience Korea right?  Well I guess using a traditional Korean restroom was just part of that adventure! 

If you think this is as odd as I did.  Feel free to check out this person's blog on the Korean bathrooms too.  I borrowed the photos from them.  http://www.shenventure.com/2011/05/21/encounters-with-seouls-public-toilets/

Korean Adventure Part 6: North Seoul Tower

One of the other adventures that Hubby took me on was a trip to see North Seoul Tower.  It was a bit like going to the empire state building as you can go up to the top of the tower to the observatory and have a view of the entire city.

To get to the tower we had to take the train to Seoul and then catch a city bus which brought us to the base of the tower.  Hubby's train pass worked on the city bus too which is kind of cool and we paid for my fare with change.  It wasn't very expensive.  When we arrived at our stop we got off and proceeded to the base of the tower.  traffic is not allowed up to the base so the bus dropped us off a the bottom of a HUGE long hill.  Have I mentioned how Korea is full of steep hills and stairs?  We paused a few times as we hiked up the hill to take photos of the city.  The higher we climbed the more we got a birds eve view but of course the real view was from the top of the tower.  We looked around at the base of the tower for a bit where they had a stone overlook and a pavilion of sorts and then went into the tower itself to buy tickets for the observatory.

Once we had our tickets we got in line to go out to the top.  We were forced to have our picture taken which they would try to sell us later but they superimposed the background on so it to me it wasn't even a "real" photo.  What a joke. I was not about to buy it.  Then they made us watch this video projected onto the elevator doors as we waited in line.  Once inside the elevator we were instructed to watch a video screen on the ceiling which played a video trying to make you think that you were flying through the roof. 

At the top we were able to walk around and see the city of all sides.  It was cool to see everything from that perspective.  The distances to various cities around the world were posted on the glass windows.  Supposedly San Francisco was only 9040.09 km away.  LOL... I couldn't see it.  They also had the distance to Chicago and Los Angeles posted.

The bottom floor of the tower is home to the national Korean teddy bear museum.  Who knew that they likes teddy bears as much as we do?  I thought teddy bears were mostly an American thing since they were named after Teddy Roosevelt?  We didn't go in but it was still interesting to note.

When we exited the tower we were just in time to see a show taking place right outside. There was a group of traditional Korean dancers/musicians and when they finished there was a reenactment/demonstration involving traditional Korean fighters.  They were dressed like samurai but I know that is Japanese.  I don't know what the Korean version is called.  I took a bunch of video clips but here are just a couple as an example.

North Seoul Tower

View of Seoul from the observatory

Korean Adventure Part 5: Coex Aquarium

It was my spring break, but unfortunately the army doesn't have "spring break" lol so Hubby did not have the week off while I was visiting but his unit was kind enough to let him work half days.  This worked out really well because I hate to get up early and hate to be rushed to get ready so I was able to sleep in and then get ready while poor Hubby went to PT and then the office for a bit.   He came home at lunchtime and then we would decide what to do for the day.

One day we decided to go to the Coex Aquarium in Seoul.  The aquarium is inside the Coex mall and we had to take the train to get there.  The train took us right to the mall entrance.  I could not believe how big this mall was.  I think it was only one floor versus out two story ones but it was very spread out and had lots of high end stores.  Many of the stores were chains that we have here in the states.  Some stores had workers out front greeting guests.  Everyone was very friendly.  We walked around the mall for a bit but we had no idea where the aquarium was inside it.  We didn't mind because it was interesting to walk around and see the store fronts.  Hubby said he thought the stores were expensive but we didn't go into any of them so I am not sure how the prices compare to stores here.

Eventually we came to a mall directory.  But, it was not like any mall directory I have EVER seen here in the US.  It was very high tech.  It had a touch screen menu where you could select the language that you wanted and then select where you wanted to go.  We used the search feature to find the aquarium and when we selected it, the screen drew a line from where we where to the aquarium highlighting our route.  It also offered us textual instructions on a turn by turn basis.  I was impressed.  Why don't we have that technology here!!  When I mentioned this later in the week to a few of Hubby's coworkers, I was told that you can actually download an AP to your phone that helps you to navigate the mall too.  Very cool.

We found our way to the aquarium and paid the entrance fee.  They had fish native to Korea that I have never seen before but they also had some small reptiles like lizards and iguanas, seals, sharks, turtles, beavers, and believe it or not - monkeys and bats.  I have no idea why they had monkeys and bats inside the aquarium but they did.  They also had an interesting modern art section.  Some of the photos from the modern art area are below...

Fish living in a toilet... yes that is a real fish!

Close up in case you didn't believe me

Fish in a fish shaped sink

Fish in the fridge

Fish in a washing machine

Close up of the fish

 
Throughout the aquarium they also had fish living in pseudo lamp posts.  See below.

There was also an exhibit in the aquarium where you were supposed to stick your hand into a shallow pool of water.  The fish in the pool would come to the person's hand and eat off the dead skin.  I was kinda grossed out.  I'm not too sure that is sanitary but when I mentioned it to Hubby's coworkers I was told that all of the nail salons in Korea have these fish.  Hubby said it is a win win situation because you lose the dead skin and the fish get fed but I wasn't about to try it.  I did not get a picture from this but to give you a visual I found one of the Internet.

Overall I enjoyed the aquarium.  It was very interesting and I got to see things  I would never see here in the US.  Afterwards, Hubby and I decided that we were hungry so we set out to find a place for dinner.  Hubby had heard that there was a T.G.I.Friday's at the Coex mall and I was thrilled at the prospect of American food so we used the cool interactive directory again and headed to the restaurant. 

We made it to Friday's and sat down to peruse the menu.  It was much different than the menu at the Friday's here.  There were no hamburgers or anything like that on the menu and many of the dishes were  a lot more elaborate than what is on the typical Friday's menu here.  Some of the dishes even came with Kimchi, a disgusting type of cabbage that is  major staple in Korea.  The restaurant was also very expensive compared to Friday's in the states.  I guess American food there is like going out to a foreign restaurant here.  I was happy to pay though since it was food that was recognizable! 

Korean Adventure Part 4: Korean Fashion

The Korean idea of fashion is very different from the way that we dress here.  Riding the train I got a very good idea of how the average Korean dresses.

Men: The Korean men love to wear skinny jeans.  Not the older men, they mostly seemed to wear dockers, but the younger generation.  More than once I wondered how they even got those pants on!  They seemed much too tight!  When I expressed this to Hubby he said you would put them on "very carefully" lol.

Women: Korean women do not show ANY cleavage because it is considred taboo there.  This is pretty much the exact opposite of how American women dress.  However, while breasts may be taboo, showing off anything below the waist seems to be entirely ok.  The women wear booty shorts ( and by booty I mean BOOTY, the leg of the short seemed almost non exisitent!) or very short skirts.  If it is cold they wear leggings or tights underneath but very little is left to imagination.  When it is cold, the women seems a little top heavy because they wear big puffy jackets and then the have their skinny legging covered legs.  Even the young elementray school girls that we saw on the trains wearing uniforms were sporting ridiculously short skirts.  Hubby remarked that if we had children, he would not want his daughter wearing a skirt that short, uniform or not!  The women also like to wear platforms shoes and shoes that have bling on them or sparkle.

Both men and women seemed to love brightly colored neon sneakers!

Korean Adventure Part 3: Riding The Train

Riding the train is the easiest and cheapest way to get around in Korea.  Not only do you not have to worry about the crazy and sometimes frightening way that the Korean's drive, but you don't have to worry about traffic.  Almost everything that you would want to go to in Seoul is accessible by the subway.  Hubby took me to Seoul several times and no matter how far into the city we went, the fare per person was never more than around $3.50 and that was the most expensive trip.  Most were less.  Hubby is very proud of his train navigation skills and steered me though line transfers with ease.  It was a definite experience and I got a taste of what it is like to be an average person in Korea.  Many Koreans use the subway as a form of every day transportation.
Each time we took the subway we would have to take a taxi to the train station.  It was only a five to ten minute ride depending on traffic.  Hubby had us use Nogyang station most frequently because it was closer to post but there is also a station in downtown Uijeongbu.  Below you can see a picture of the entrance to the station complete with really neat bronze horse statues.

After going into the station Hubby would take me to the ticketing area.  Everything is done electronically.  The machine has language buttons at the bottom of the screen so the first thing you have to do is select English.  Then you touch the "Single Journey Ticket" option.  (Pictured below as the number 1 although in the picture nothing is in English.)  

Hubby rides the rain frequently so he has a re loadable card that he uses but each time we went somewhere we would have to buy a ticket for the trip and return for me.  After arriving at the station screen after selecting single journey,  Hubby would pull out his subway map and look for the station that we wanted to go to that was closest to our destination.  Most of the time Hubby had researched this before we left.  See below for a picture of what the subway map.  We rode several of the lines!

After deciding what station we wanted to go to, Hubby would scroll through the menu, select the station and then feed in the appropriate amount of won (Korean currency). 

*Side Note: 1,000 Won is equal to about $0.88 in US currency so it is better to use the Korean currency even though many vendors will take dollars.  The vendors will charge you the same amount even if you use dollars and then exchange them in to make the profit in the exchange.  It's not a huge difference but it does add up over time.

After paying, the machine spits out the ticket.  They are made of plastic almost like a credit card, although a bit thinner plastic) and mine were always bright orange or neon yellow.  ( I have a picture of one below but it doesn't say the station that we used because I borrowed the picture from someone else.)  You have to pay a 5 won deposit to get the ticket but you get this back at the end of the day when you cash in your ticket at a return machine.  I would compare this to states which require you to pay an extra 5 cents on each can or bottle of soda/beer that you buy in order to encourage you to recycle and then give it back to you when you return the empty ones.  You don't have to return it but you lose your 5 cents if you don't.  I thought the plastic was a definite upgrade to the paper that we get here in the states but I guess Americans don't like to be hassled with paying the deposit and then having to return the card at the end of the trip.  I didn't find it to be a big deal and as I mentioned earlier, Hubby has a re loadable card that he just puts money on every now and then when it gets low so he doesn't have to worry about trading in the card each trip.

Ticket in hand, the next part of the fun was to go through the turn styles and up to the platform.  Most of the stations didn't actually have turn styles but just lanes that you walked though.  Each time you had to lay your card over the "T money" pad as you walked though and it would deduct the amount of the fare from your card.  Sometimes when we transferred we had to go though another one of these to get to the proper platform for our next train but since we had always selected our destination station when buying my ticket, it was always loaded with enough money for each one that we had to walk though.

1) http://seoulsounds.wordpress.com/2011/08/24/199-seoul-metro-bells/

2) http://seoulsounds.wordpress.com/2011/08/17/198-new-seoul-metro-fanfare-announcement/

3) http://seoulsounds.wordpress.com/2009/11/02/교대역-transfer-station-announcement/

The inside of the train itself looks a bit different than some other trains I have ridden.  They have seats lining the sides and the straps to hang onto if you are standing in the aisles.  Once or twice Hubby and I sat down next to an older Korean person only to have them get up and move.  Hubby said that some of the older generation do not like the Americans very much.  We also got a lot of stares but mostly people were nice.  During rush hours the train gets VERY crowded!  On one train ride a tiny Korean lady grabbed my butt hard and pushed me out of the way instead of saying excuse me!  I thought this was a bit rude but Hubby said that is normal.  Riding the train was an adventure!